Later on this week everyone will gather around the table and feast on turkey, sweet potatoes, stuffing, green beans, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie.
And the significance of that table, at least for me, is the memory connection.
Who doesn't have memories of Thanksgiving Past? I can't imagine anyone who would admit to not holding a mental picture or two of how it was when they were young.
My memories of Thanksgiving always involved a trip to my grandmother's house. She lived with my aunt and uncle and cousins. All of us would travel to Aunt Taty's for the day...some of us from a distance, and some from close by.
The first thing I remember is my grandmother standing at the sink, peeling potatoes. She would use a common paring knife but the skins came off in almost paper thin strips...you could see through them. When I peeled potatoes she monitored my every move...making sure that I didn't cut too deep and waste good food. That was her motto.
Aunt Taty would make the turkey and dressing. She always baked a ham too because my Uncle Bill had been raised by a Kentucky mother...and he had ham at Thanksgiving. Period. The end.
Aunt Nettie brought the pumpkin pie and salad. Cousin Ruth brought the fresh made rolls. My mom always made her famous cranberry relish.
All in all we had plenty of food and more than we needed.
But the one constant that comes back to me every Thanksgiving is the tie that binds us all together. It is a gossamer thread as light as silk, floating through the air, catching light as it passes. It is the sound of my aunts and uncles and cousins and my mom and dad, laughing, telling stories, sharing news. It is the smell of food, spicy,savory odors, filling the house with a flavor you can almost taste. It is the warmth of the stove heating the rooms until you have to open the windows to let in some fresh air. It is love on all the faces gathered around that table. It is grace said by my Uncle Henry as he bows his head and folds his work-worn hands in prayer. It is that scene that will never leave me, no matter how many Thanksgivings I celebrate.
It is the tie that binds us together, past to present, with a firmness that will never let go.
May your Thanksgiving be filled with all sorts of memories...good food, good company, and good times.
